Blueblood
06-02-2006, 11:55 AM
Here is the article from the Sun Sentinel:
Belle Glade relieves police chief after grand jury slams shooting investigation
By Leon Fooksman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 1, 2006
The Belle Glade police chief and a sergeant were relieved of their duties Wednesday after the release of a scathing grand jury report into a botched shooting investigation.
A grand jury found the Belle Glade Police Department conducted a "grossly substandard" inquiry into an October nightclub shooting. Police Chief Albert Dowdell demonstrated "intentional, unethical manipulation" when he relied on insufficient evidence to order the arrest of a man on shooting-related charges, the grand jury report concluded. The man later was released.
The grand jury also ordered a new investigation to determine whether perjury and other charges should be filed against Dowdell and Sgt. Jeffers Walker, who helped conduct the shooting investigation.
Mayor Ray Torres Sanchez couldn't immediately say Wednesday night whether Dowdell's and Walker's removals were temporary or permanent. Both men were required to turn in their badges and guns, he said. Kenneth Holley, city public safety director, will be interim chief.
"We'd rather be cautious," Sanchez said. "If an officer is under that type of investigation, we have to take appropriate actions."
Their departure rekindled a debate about whether the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office should take over the roughly 40-member Police Department of the impoverished, predominately black city of 15,000 on the south rim of Lake Okeechobee, where many officers are known for putting in time while looking for better-paying jobs in bigger departments.
The mayor said he still has confidence in the Police Department but would be open to hearing what the Sheriff's Office could do for the city. Vice Mayor Don Garrett, though, already has made up his mind and wants the Sheriff's Office to come in.
"Things have gotten out of hand over here," Garrett said. "We don't need this dark cloud over us."
Reached by phone, Dowdell declined to comment, saying Belle Glade attorney Dan Paige would make a statement on his behalf today. Walker also declined to comment.
Questions about the department's leadership have loomed for years but have taken a more serious tone after recent disclosures that police cannot account for as many as 120 guns missing from evidence storage, Palm Beach County Assistant State Attorney Robert Shepherd said. Two men were arrested in February for breaking into a city building and stealing guns and drugs, all evidence from old police cases.
"It's frustrating," Shepherd said. "You just don't know if police procedure is followed."
Added Palm Beach County Court Judge Nelson Bailey: "I have been critical from the bench of the department. I have had a number of felony cases involving violence, and there was no prosecution because of inadequate or nonexistent police work."
The grand jury report indicated that the investigation into the questionable arrest was helped along when an out-of-town officer, in Belle Glade to assist after Hurricane Wilma, was at Dowdell's home and witnessed an exchange between the chief and resident April Ridford.
Ridford had come to Dowdell's house to complain about a run-in with Darren Hatcher at a convenience store and accused Hatcher of being the shooter in the Oct. 7 shooting of Derrick Bryant at Club 21. Based on Ridford's account, officers arrested Hatcher at Dowdell's insistence, the report said.
But when Belle Glade Officer Israel Baez suggested charging Ridford with aggravated battery for hitting Hatcher in the head with a beer bottle at a store, Walker replaced Baez with a less-skilled officer to continue dealing with the situation at the store.
Ridford, along with two relatives, later were interviewed about Hatcher's connection to the shooting, but their statements were insufficient and inconsistent, the grand jury report said. Plus, there were no sworn statements and no physical evidence linking Hatcher to the shooting.
Hatcher spent about 30 days in jail before charges against him were dropped because of inconsistent information in the police reports.
The grand jury concluded that Dowdell made "decisions without the benefit of sworn statements, evidence or a criminal investigation upon which to make credible, valid and just decisions."
A further investigation determined Walker failed to interview witnesses, take pictures, review security videotapes or talk to the owner and security staff at Club 21 after the shooting. He told investigators that a person who supposedly could identify the shooter approached him, but he didn't follow up or take a sworn statement from that person, and he didn't direct anyone else to pursue the lead.
In their testimony to the grand jury, Dowdell and Walker gave "evasive" responses, the report said. Evasive responses are tantamount to lying and border on perjury, the report said.
For that reason, the grand jury suggested continuing the investigation into their conduct.
If the Sheriff's Office takes over the Police Department, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said, Belle Glade would save hundreds of thousands of dollars in police services, get better-trained officers and have access to his agency's greater resources. The Sheriff's Office has taken over the South Bay and Pahokee police departments within the past year and is negotiating a takeover of the Royal Palm Beach Police Department.
Staff Writer Mike Clary and Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.
Leon Fooksman can be reached at lfooksman@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6647.
Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Looks like Sheriff Bradshaw is ready! Let's hope it's soon!! :P :P :P :P :P :P :P
Belle Glade relieves police chief after grand jury slams shooting investigation
By Leon Fooksman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 1, 2006
The Belle Glade police chief and a sergeant were relieved of their duties Wednesday after the release of a scathing grand jury report into a botched shooting investigation.
A grand jury found the Belle Glade Police Department conducted a "grossly substandard" inquiry into an October nightclub shooting. Police Chief Albert Dowdell demonstrated "intentional, unethical manipulation" when he relied on insufficient evidence to order the arrest of a man on shooting-related charges, the grand jury report concluded. The man later was released.
The grand jury also ordered a new investigation to determine whether perjury and other charges should be filed against Dowdell and Sgt. Jeffers Walker, who helped conduct the shooting investigation.
Mayor Ray Torres Sanchez couldn't immediately say Wednesday night whether Dowdell's and Walker's removals were temporary or permanent. Both men were required to turn in their badges and guns, he said. Kenneth Holley, city public safety director, will be interim chief.
"We'd rather be cautious," Sanchez said. "If an officer is under that type of investigation, we have to take appropriate actions."
Their departure rekindled a debate about whether the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office should take over the roughly 40-member Police Department of the impoverished, predominately black city of 15,000 on the south rim of Lake Okeechobee, where many officers are known for putting in time while looking for better-paying jobs in bigger departments.
The mayor said he still has confidence in the Police Department but would be open to hearing what the Sheriff's Office could do for the city. Vice Mayor Don Garrett, though, already has made up his mind and wants the Sheriff's Office to come in.
"Things have gotten out of hand over here," Garrett said. "We don't need this dark cloud over us."
Reached by phone, Dowdell declined to comment, saying Belle Glade attorney Dan Paige would make a statement on his behalf today. Walker also declined to comment.
Questions about the department's leadership have loomed for years but have taken a more serious tone after recent disclosures that police cannot account for as many as 120 guns missing from evidence storage, Palm Beach County Assistant State Attorney Robert Shepherd said. Two men were arrested in February for breaking into a city building and stealing guns and drugs, all evidence from old police cases.
"It's frustrating," Shepherd said. "You just don't know if police procedure is followed."
Added Palm Beach County Court Judge Nelson Bailey: "I have been critical from the bench of the department. I have had a number of felony cases involving violence, and there was no prosecution because of inadequate or nonexistent police work."
The grand jury report indicated that the investigation into the questionable arrest was helped along when an out-of-town officer, in Belle Glade to assist after Hurricane Wilma, was at Dowdell's home and witnessed an exchange between the chief and resident April Ridford.
Ridford had come to Dowdell's house to complain about a run-in with Darren Hatcher at a convenience store and accused Hatcher of being the shooter in the Oct. 7 shooting of Derrick Bryant at Club 21. Based on Ridford's account, officers arrested Hatcher at Dowdell's insistence, the report said.
But when Belle Glade Officer Israel Baez suggested charging Ridford with aggravated battery for hitting Hatcher in the head with a beer bottle at a store, Walker replaced Baez with a less-skilled officer to continue dealing with the situation at the store.
Ridford, along with two relatives, later were interviewed about Hatcher's connection to the shooting, but their statements were insufficient and inconsistent, the grand jury report said. Plus, there were no sworn statements and no physical evidence linking Hatcher to the shooting.
Hatcher spent about 30 days in jail before charges against him were dropped because of inconsistent information in the police reports.
The grand jury concluded that Dowdell made "decisions without the benefit of sworn statements, evidence or a criminal investigation upon which to make credible, valid and just decisions."
A further investigation determined Walker failed to interview witnesses, take pictures, review security videotapes or talk to the owner and security staff at Club 21 after the shooting. He told investigators that a person who supposedly could identify the shooter approached him, but he didn't follow up or take a sworn statement from that person, and he didn't direct anyone else to pursue the lead.
In their testimony to the grand jury, Dowdell and Walker gave "evasive" responses, the report said. Evasive responses are tantamount to lying and border on perjury, the report said.
For that reason, the grand jury suggested continuing the investigation into their conduct.
If the Sheriff's Office takes over the Police Department, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said, Belle Glade would save hundreds of thousands of dollars in police services, get better-trained officers and have access to his agency's greater resources. The Sheriff's Office has taken over the South Bay and Pahokee police departments within the past year and is negotiating a takeover of the Royal Palm Beach Police Department.
Staff Writer Mike Clary and Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.
Leon Fooksman can be reached at lfooksman@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6647.
Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Looks like Sheriff Bradshaw is ready! Let's hope it's soon!! :P :P :P :P :P :P :P